


The Fire Lord's Bride

by illrain666



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-26
Updated: 2012-07-25
Packaged: 2017-11-10 18:04:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 22,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/469145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/illrain666/pseuds/illrain666
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finding a bride for the Fire Lord can be a complicated matter. Sequel to "An Advantageous Marriage".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was a beautiful day, so beautiful that Lord Iroh, the famed General who was known as the Dragon of the West, decided to enjoy his breakfast in the Royal Palace's gardens. As was their custom, he was joined by Zuko, his nephew. While he sipped his favorite ginseng tea, Iroh surreptitiously studied the young man sitting across from him. Outwardly, Zuko seemed fine. Since his investiture as the Fire Lord a little over a year ago, he had worked tirelessly and he had proven himself to be the capable ruler that Iroh had always known he would be. He was strict, but just: a monarch with fists of iron and a heart of gold. The nobles who scorned him before had quickly realized their error in underestimating Ozai's firstborn. Under Zuko's reign, the Fire Nation had begun to prosper again, great advances in trade and diplomatic relations with the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes had been made, and the people had risen from the feelings of despair and humiliation that had been brought on by their defeat in the war. The path leading to a future of peace and progress had never seemed more inviting to everyone.

This beautiful day, Iroh reflected, was simply perfect for a royal wedding and, in fact, it was the young Fire Lord's wedding day. The entire kingdom was abuzz with excitement over the momentous occasion. However, Zuko wasn't looking particularly excited or happy for a man who was about to marry a beautiful noble lady, and that was the dark cloud that marred the perfection of the day and the nation's dreams of a golden future. And Iroh was very worried about that fact.

"Are you prepared for the ceremony this noon?" he wondered. His tone was carefully casual.

"Of course," Zuko answered. "We have only been planning and rehearsing everything for the past five months."

They were silent again. Presently, Iroh sighed and put his tea cup down rather forcefully. "Nephew," he said, "do not marry her. She will not make you happy." There. He had finally expressed the concern that had been eating away at him for the past five months of wedding preparations. He waited rather anxiously for Zuko's reaction.

The Fire Lord showed no sign of surprise at his uncle's outburst. In fact, he showed no emotion of any kind, at all. He merely continued sipping his tea. Iroh glared at him, silently challenging him to speak. Finally, Zuko met the elderly man's gaze.

"It is a very advantageous marriage for the Fire Nation, Uncle," he said coldly. "Lady Ayumi is from a noble Earth Kingdom family. Her father is one of the Earth King's most trusted advisers. Lastly, she is not a friend of the Avatar, so she has never been tainted by that blockhead's influence."

Iroh regarded him sadly. "It was my fault, Zuko," he admitted. "It was my foolish meddling, my scheming, that hurt her and made her leave. I know that she was beginning to care for you. If only I had been honest, maybe To —"

"I do not wish to talk about this," Zuko cut him off. He stood up, his face a mask. "I have a council with my ministers. I will see you at the ceremony." He left his uncle staring after him with a pained expression.

Iroh was left with his bitter regret over how badly he had hurt two of the people he cared about most in the world. After the Avatar and his allies had defeated the Fire Nation, Iroh had reclaimed his birthright and he had been crowned as the Fire Lord upon his brother Ozai's death. He had named Zuko as his heir, but his nephew had adamantly refused to accept the honor. The young prince hadn't thought that he deserved it after his father's treachery in taking away the title from Iroh. When Zuko kept refusing the position year after year, Iroh finally resorted to a little sneakiness.

He pretended to accept Zuko's decision, then he announced that he would have to beget an heir by getting married. He paraded countless beautiful young ladies before his nephew, hoping that one of them would spark Zuko's interest so he could execute the rest of his plan. But, to Iroh's surprise and then to his delight, the young lady who finally caught Zuko's eye was Toph Bei Fong, the blind Earthbender master.

Toph and Zuko had a tempestuous relationship characterized by alternating bouts of cold disdain and furious arguments. But, with Iroh's maneuvering, the two of them were brought closer together in spite of themselves. All the pieces were falling into place as Iroh had envisioned, so he thought that it was time to reveal his secret plot. He fully expected Toph and his nephew to have a good laugh over his well-intentioned machinations. But, instead, events had gone terribly wrong.

Toph had called both Iroh and Zuko names that would have scandalized and shamed even the most blackhearted of pirates. It was all her friend the Avatar could do to stop her from burying the two men alive with her Earthbending. Then she had stormed out of the Palace, leaving a sizable amount of destruction in her wake which Avatar Aang had sheepishly restored to order as best as he could. Zuko, for his part, retreated to his estate outside of the capital and refused to see his uncle for several days. When he finally returned to the Palace, he informed Iroh that he was willing to succeed the elderly man as Fire Lord only if Iroh abdicated immediately. His uncle had looked at him sadly then agreed.

So, Zuko became Fire Lord. And six months ago, he met Lady Ayumi while on a state visit to the Earth Kingdom and he decided that she would make a proper Fire Lady. The entire courtship and betrothal had been conducted with all the cold precision of a military campaign, and Iroh had furiously berated himself for inadvertently causing his nephew to become disillusioned with love.

Later, as he stood beside Zuko in the temple while the priests intoned the prayers asking the heavens to bless the groom with many offspring, Iroh prayed, too. He prayed that his stubborn nephew would come to his senses and not go through with the ceremony. A marriage without love, no matter how advantageous, was not what he wanted for Zuko.

The priests had just finished their chanting when the doors suddenly burst open. However, it wasn't to herald the arrival of the bride. Lord Jiro, Lady Ayumi's father, came running into the temple. "Fire Lord Zuko!" he cried out. "A tragedy! She's gone! My poor child! Ayumi has been kidnapped!"

A look of fury came over Zuko's face and, without a word, he swept out of the temple, Iroh following at his heels. Lord Jiro led them to where the bridal procession had been ambushed. "They were Earthbenders," he told them. "I don't understand why my own people would do such a thing. This marriage is incredibly important to the Earth Kingdom."

"Uncle!" the Fire Lord said sharply. "Get our best trackers. We're going after those Earthbenders." In less than an hour, Zuko had assembled a company of men to help him in going after those who had taken his bride. Four Yu-Yan archers accompanied them. They rode hard and fast, following the very clear trail the kidnappers had left in their flight. Both Zuko and Iroh thought that it was very suspicious that the rogue Earthbenders had left such visible traces of their presence. It was becoming more and more likely that they were riding into a trap, but they knew that they had to rescue Lady Ayumi for that was their primary mission.

Their chase led them to the port town of Tenzu. However, they were a little too late. They were informed by the townspeople that a band of Earthbenders had commandeered a ship and fled across the sea just over an hour before the Fire Lord had arrived. Since the nearest Fire Nation Navy ship would only get to Tenzu by morning to pick them up, their party would have to spend the night in the town and lose precious hours in tracking the Earthbenders. Zuko was in a towering rage by this time. He smoldered all throughout dinner though Iroh kept reassuring him that they would catch up with their quarry. He finally excused himself and left the teahouse to head back to their inn for some sleep.

A cloaked servant bearing a pitcher of water was leaving his room once he came back to the inn. The servant bowed deeply when Zuko walked by and the Fire Lord acknowledged the obeisance with a curt nod. Then he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He looked down at the muddy footprints the servant had left all over the floor. He turned slowly and caught a glimpse of bare feet before they disappeared around the corner of the hallway. His entire body tensed, ready for a fight, as he shouted out, "Earthbender!"

The sound of a pitcher crashing against the floor was heard and then hurried footsteps as the Earthbender fled. Zuko's shout had alerted his soldiers and they all gave chase after the mysterious figure. "I want him alive! Bring him to me alive!" the Fire Lord ordered. The Yu-Yan archers, with their perfect aim, immediately pinned the Earthbender's cloak to the ground with four arrows. The Earthbender quickly retaliated and sent several chunks of rock smashing against the soldiers. He would have escaped if Iroh, who had come out of the teahouse just then, hadn't bashed his head with a teapot.

The Earthbender fell. "Ow!"

Immediately, he was surrounded by soldiers and the Yu-Yan archers. "Move, and I'll burn you alive," Zuko threatened, fire wreathing his hands.

The hood of the cloak fell back as the Earthbender looked up to face Zuko. "Hello, Princess," said Toph Bei Fong.


	2. Chapter 2

Zuko had never been more flabbergasted in his entire life. It took him a few minutes to find his voice and to order his soldiers to bind her. When she protested, very loudly, he ordered them to gag her mouth as well. He then told the men to take her to his room at the inn. Once she had been deposited on a chair, he told everyone to get out except for Iroh. He then took a moment to study her before speaking.

She was thinner now. Her face had lost its round-cheeked softness and her hair was even longer and wilder than he remembered. Her eyes, though, were still the color of clouded jade, and they still had that unerring habit of staring right through him as though she wasn't blind. While he was looking her over, unbeknownst to him, Iroh was studying him in turn. The old man then cleared his throat quite loudly. "Zuko," the old man said reproachfully, "this is Toph. Must we treat her like a common criminal?"

The Fire Lord scowled. "She gets treated the way she deserves to be treated," he said. "But I have some questions that she needs to answer first." He stood before their captive. "I am going to take the gag from your mouth. I expect you to speak in a calm, civilized manner and answer my questions. Is that understood?" Sullenly, Toph nodded. Zuko then started to remove the gag. No sooner had he freed her mouth than she screamed.

"You son of a — !"

He quickly gagged her mouth again. "You haven't changed at all, have you?" he said furiously. "You're still filthy and disgusting and aggravating with your caterwauling and, and!" he sputtered. "I can't believe I ever thought I was in lo —!" He abruptly stopped speaking.

"Nephew," said Iroh placatingly, "let me talk to Toph."

"Fine! Get some answers out of her stubborn head!" He stalked over to the nearest chair and grumpily sat down, still staring daggers at the Earthbender.

Iroh gently removed the gag from Toph's mouth. She remained silent, though, and glared at a spot beyond the old man's shoulder. "Toph," Iroh said, "what are you doing here in Tenzu?" He feared to hear her answer, but they had to know how she happened to come back into their lives under the most suspicious of circumstances.

She finally deigned to look at him. "What do you think?" she spat out.

"Did you - ?" Iroh hesitated then continued, "Did you have anything to do with Lady Ayumi's kidnapping?"

She took a deep breath. Her expression clearly revealed that she didn't want to answer Iroh's question, but she answered it anyway. "I was hired to do a job. I had no idea that they were planning to kidnap Zuko's bride, okay? They just said that they wanted an escort to the Fire Nation, and they paid me in advance. So I brought them into the country, then I thought I'd stick around for a bit, and the next thing I knew everyone was screaming about how a bunch of Earthbenders made off with the Fire Lord's bride. I tried to stop them but I got here too late. I thought about talking to you people and offering to help, but then I remembered that I hated both your guts! I was just about to get away when Princess over there caught me."

"You brought those criminals into my kingdom?" Zuko shouted. He would have said more had not Iroh silenced him with a look.

"So," the old man said to Toph, "you know the men who took Lady Ayumi?"

A wary look came over her face. "Yeah."

"Do you think you could track them down?" Iroh asked.

"What exactly are you asking?" she demanded.

"We will pay you four times what they paid you if you will help us recover Lady Ayumi," Iroh said.

"What?" Toph and Zuko both exclaimed at the same time.

"Toph is the only one who can identify the men who took your bride," Iroh explained. "If anyone can find those men and Lady Ayumi, it would be her."

Zuko couldn't help but be suspicious of his uncle's motives in insisting that the blind Earthbender aid them in pursuing his bride's abductors. However, he could not deny that there was wisdom in the old man's words. If anyone could find the men who had stolen Lady Ayumi, Toph was the one who could do it. Shooting Iroh a very dark look, he said grudgingly, "Perhaps you're right." He turned to the Earthbender. "Well?" he demanded. "Are you going to help us get my bride back?"

She scowled. "Do I have a choice?" she snapped. "It's a matter of honor now, isn't it? I was indirectly responsible for your precious bride getting kidnapped, so I might as well do the right thing and help you get her back so the two of you could make moody little Fire Nation babies together."

Iroh nodded solemnly. "Thank you for agreeing to help us, Toph."

"But I still do expect to be paid the amount you promised!" she quickly said. "Gold's gold, and you'll never hear me refusing it."

"Excellent!" Iroh beamed. "So we will pay you half of the amount now and then you will get the rest upon the safe recovery of Lady Ayumi. How much did those men pay you, by the way?"

When Toph told them the price, Zuko sputtered furiously. "We are not paying you four times that amount in gold!" He could afford it, of course, but he just hated her so much right now that he wanted to be as difficult as possible. It was very childish of him, and he thought that he had outgrown such behavior but, apparently where she was concerned, he could still be quite the spoiled brat prince he had used to be.

"Zuko!" Iroh growled, obviously warning him not to antagonize Toph any further.

"Why not?" she retorted. "Is your bride so ugly that she's not worth that much to you?" It was a taunt meant to provoke him and so, just to be contrary, he bit back the angry reply that he was about to make.

"Fine. We'll pay it," he said, but couldn't resist adding, "And, for your information, my bride is the most beautiful maiden in the entire Earth Kingdom."

"Whatever, Princess," she shrugged. "You've got low standards anyway. So, since we're going to be working together, could you get these ropes off of me?"

Zuko nodded for Iroh to release her. "We'll have an early start tomorrow," he said. "Make sure you're ready."

She smirked at him. "I can't wait."


	3. Chapter 3

"I. Hate. Travelling. By. Sea!" Toph slumped over the side of the ship, her pale face looking paler than usual and her long hair whipping freely in the salty wind. Iroh regarded her with sympathy and quietly handed her a cup of hot tea. She took it without a word and gulped it down like she was dying of thirst. Then she almost pitched overboard as she threw up the liquid along with the meager contents of her stomach. Her whole body shaking, she crumpled to the deck, making pitiful kittenish sounds. Iroh began to fuss over her like a mother hen.

"You should not be out here, Toph," he gently scolded. "Come. Let me take you to your cabin where you can lie down and rest."

She shook her head feebly. "No. I'll feel worse. Seasickness and I hate each other with a passion, and she's always beating me down."

"Perhaps a sea voyage was not such an excellent idea," Iroh said. "By the time we get to the port of Koshin, you would not be in a fit state to help us track down those rogue Earthbenders."

"It's a necessary evil," she shrugged. "Going by sea is the fastest way we can get to Koshin, which is the likeliest spot that those kidnappers would have gone to since it's the nearest big town where they can easily lose themselves. We find whatever information we can, track them down, get back Princess Zuko's lady love, I get my gold, and we'll all live happily ever after."

The old general regarded her quietly for a few moments. Then he spoke. "Are you really doing this for the gold, Toph?"

The female Earthbender snorted. "Of course, I am! When I get this job done, I'll have enough money to set me up nicely for a few months so I won't have to find work right away. Babysitting merchants and other useless people is exhausting!"

"What do you mean?" Iroh frowned. His intuition was telling him that things were not quite right with his young friend.

Toph looked away. "I kinda really need the money," she mumbled. Her tone made it clear that she resented having to tell him this particular truth.

Iroh was genuinely surprised. "But why?" he asked. "Have you run away from your parents again? Is that why you don't have any money?"

She laughed with bitter amusement. "Run away? I wish. No. They cut me off. The Bei Fongs' prodigal daughter is now persona non grata in all their estates. I heard my father even got my name stricken from the family scrolls. Whatever. I don't really care."

"Why?" Iroh demanded, aghast. "Why would your parents do such a thing?"

"Why do you think?" she glared at him, her blind eyes sparking with restrained pain and anger. "I disgraced the family. I didn't marry you. I brought shame on the entire Earth Kingdom by breaking my word that I would marry the Fire Lord and symbolize the new peace between our two peoples. Of course, my family disowned me! I failed in my duty as a daughter and as a citizen of my country."

"Does Aang know about this?" Iroh was sure that the Avatar and Toph's other friends would surely have defended her.

"I haven't seen them since," she admitted. "They don't need to deal with my troubles."

"But, Toph," Iroh protested, "you should have told them. They would have wanted to help you. I would have helped you!"

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow skeptically. "How exactly would you have helped me? Would you have tried to manipulate me into marrying some other nephew of yours?" Then, as if a dam suddenly broke, words just came pouring out of the Earthbender. "I trusted you, Iroh. I would have sacrificed my own happiness to marry you because I believed in ideals like honor and duty and family! But you couldn't even repay me with the same trust by telling me the truth! What were you thinking? You and that stupid nephew of yours made me feel like a fool!"

"I swear to you, Toph, Zuko knew nothing about my plans!" Iroh said.

"It doesn't matter!" she replied furiously. "What I thought was real, my feelings, none of it matters anymore! I'm never letting anyone use me like that again! You hurt me in a way that no one ever has before! I can never forgive you for it! Friends don't do that to each other, Iroh!"

The old man hung his head in shame before her anger. "I am truly sorry, Toph. I was a fool," he said humbly.

"Yes, you were!" she agreed. "Now, please, leave me alone! I'd rather have your indifference than your kindness."

Knowing that there was nothing he could say to comfort her, Iroh left. When she was sure that he was gone, Toph finally let the tears fall.


	4. Chapter 4

They arrived in Koshin by the first light of dawn. As soon as she got off the ship and her feet touched solid ground once again, Toph breathed a deep sigh of relief. "Much better," she murmured as she wiggled her toes against the earth. Then she turned to face Zuko. "What's our next move?"

"My soldiers will question the townspeople," he said, "And I will meet with the Mayor. He knows we're here as well as our purpose. He may be able to provide us with assistance."

She nodded. "All right. I'll go seek out the local lowlifes to check if they might know something."

Zuko looked at her consideringly for a few moments. By her appearance, she was a young, frail-looking girl—who was blind. There was no way that she could convince the town's criminal elements to talk to her. In fact, it was likelier that she would be assaulted by thieves and other scoundrels once she set foot in the more unsavory parts of Koshin. So he made his decision. "Uncle, why don't you meet with the Mayor and explain our predicament? Buy any supplies we'll need as well. I'm going with Lady Toph."

"Very well, my Lord." Iroh bowed and retreated to do his nephew's bidding. If he had a pleased little smile lurking around the corners of his mouth at this development, he carefully concealed it until Zuko could no longer see him.

The young Fire Lord turned to the Earthbending master. "Shall we?"

She scowled at him. "Why do you need to accompany me? Don't you trust me to do what I said I'd do? My word's good, you know!"

"Until you have actually proven that your word is worth the breath you spent on it, then I'm going to expect you to run off the first chance you get," he retorted nastily. He immediately regretted his harsh words as soon as he saw the hurt that flashed across her face. But he couldn't take them back. He wouldn't.

After a moment, her expression hardened. "Fine. Why don't you lead the way, Your Highness?"

Without another word to her, Zuko signaled to two guards to follow them while the rest of their party went off on their individual missions. A few careful questions asked of select townspeople soon directed them towards a tavern called the Floating Dragon where men of dubious reputation were said to congregate. As they walked into the dark, smelly establishment, Zuko couldn't help but feel a twinge of deja vu as he remembered the days when he and his Uncle had often wandered into places like this during their search for Avatar Aang. They made their way to the bar where the tavern keeper served drinks to his customers and Zuko casually tossed three gold coins onto the counter.

"I need a drink," he said, "and information."

The tavern keeper looked at the coins with greed in his eyes, then he looked at Zuko. "And what sort of information does the Lord of the Fire Nation seek from a humble businessman?"

Zuko was not surprised that the man knew who he was. After the War had ended, his face had appeared in countless scrolls that announced the defeat of the Fire Nation and the role that Ozai's scarred son had played in its final chapter. "I heard talk that a number of Earthbenders spent time in your tavern while they were passing through Koshin. They had a fragile cargo with them."

The man looked like he was trying to remember a long-distant memory. "I think I may have entertained such men under my roof. But, alas. I am old and infirm. My mind is not as sharp as it used to be in my youth. I would need additional clues that would allow me to remember the existence of those men you have mentioned."

Zuko nodded his understanding. "I see. Perhaps another object made of precious metal would help your recall."

The tavern keeper smirked. "Yes, yes. Perhaps it might."

Zuko whipped out a knife and pressed the tip against the man's left nostril. "As you can see, this blade is made of silver and studded with valuable gemstones. It would fetch quite a handsome price if sold. But its true value for me lies in how sharp and able it is of cutting open the faces of men who withhold information I need."

The man paled. "The Fire Lord is a man with excellent taste in weapons and a discerning eye for precious metals. In fact, the sight of such a fine blade has caused me to recall that the leader of the party that you are seeking carried a sword that is almost the equal of your knife in value. I also now recall that there were seven of them, they kept their fragile cargo under lock and key, and I overheard them saying they were headed for Lo-Man," he said the last sentence in a rush.

Zuko thanked the man very politely and walked out, smartly followed by his companions. He noticed Toph smirking out of the corner of his eye. "What?" he snapped.

"Princess, if I didn't hate you so much, I could almost like you now," she said admiringly. "That was very well done back there. Though you didn't have to leave the gold coins behind, you know."

He shrugged dismissively and went off to meet up with Iroh. They found him enjoying a cup of tea with Koshin's Mayor and, after certain diplomatic proprieties had been observed, they were finally able to set off once again with Lo-Man as their new destination.

It was hard going since the terrain in this particular region of the Earth Kingdom was mountainous, but they still managed to cover a good distance before they had to stop and set up camp for the night. Later on, Zuko, Iroh, and Toph were all seated around the fire after a light dinner, and they fell to discussing their mission over a pot of tea that the old general brewed himself.

"Is it just me," said Toph with a thoughtful frown, "or do these kidnappers seem to be operating sloppily? I mean, they're leaving clues left and right like boulders. Sure, we don't know who they are yet, but we're not having any trouble following their trail. It's too easy to be believed."

"I must agree with you," Iroh looked concerned. "This whole affair has an amateur air about it, like we are dealing with ambitious yet not terribly competent villains. I can only hope that's true."

"Why would you say that?" Zuko asked.

"Because if their seeming incompetence is part of a larger, more elaborate plot, then it is becoming more certain that we are heading straight to a trap," the old general pronounced. He looked at Toph. "What else can you tell us about these men, Toph? Did they not leave any more clues while you were in their company?"

"They kept to themselves and they never talked about anything but general stuff whenever I was around. And I wasn't trying to befriend them or anything at all. They were just a job," she shrugged.

"Whoever they are, I am going to find them," Zuko swore. "And I am going to make them regret ever tangling with me."

There was a strange light in Toph's eyes as she regarded Zuko. "We'll get your precious bride back, O mighty Fire Lord." Her tone was trying to be flippant, but there was an odd catch to her words that Iroh keenly noted and Zuko completely missed. "Then you can get married and live happily ever after."

Zuko looked at her in silence for several moments, his eyes burning with reflections of memories. Then he stood up abruptly. "I'm going to bed," he announced. "It will be a hard ride tomorrow." He left the two still sitting by the fire. Toph didn't say anything, but she appeared calm and unconcerned at the Fire Lord's sudden departure from their presence. After a few minutes of quietly sipping her cup of tea, she also informed Iroh that she would be going to sleep.

The old man watched her go and, not for the first time, he cursed himself for his foolishness at inadvertently driving a wedge between Toph and Zuko. How was he ever going to resolve the trouble that his own meddling had caused?


	5. Chapter 5

Iroh smiled as he surveyed the stunning scene before them with deep pleasure. "If we were not only on an important mission," he declared, "I would very much love to linger here. This valley is absolutely beautiful. Do you not think so, Fire Lord Zuko?"

His nephew barely glanced up from the map he was studying. "I'm sure it's lovely, Uncle," the young man said distractedly. Zuko and one of his captains then had a low and intense discussion about the route they were going to take next. They were still a far way off from the mountain town of Lo-Man and the road they were taking was increasingly becoming a difficult one to traverse. It seemed that the Earthbenders they were pursuing had finally become wise to the fact that the Fire Lord and his soldiers were practically breathing down their necks, so they had sought to make the way behind them as impassable as they could. Toph was now actively earning her gold by bending all the obstacles that had been placed in their path and scouting ahead of the party for signs of their quarry. After two days of her stomping the earth flat and crushing rocks to powder, Zuko had told her to desist. He wanted them to find another road to Lo-Man, one that hopefully the Earthbenders hadn't sabotaged so they could make up their lost traveling time. While the men consulted maps and planned alternate routes, Toph found them a place where they could camp in comfort.

So they had come to this valley nestled between three peaks of the mountain range they had been riding through. It was, as Iroh described, a beautiful spot with fields of thick golden grass, delicate-looking trees that offered cool shade, and a bubbling stream with sparking waters that flowed along the eastern part of a meadow. However, Iroh seemed to be the only one who appreciated its loveliness, since everyone else was preoccupied with the business of attending to their different duties. Sighing in mild exasperation, the old general then decided that he might as well make himself useful and busy too by overseeing the hunters as they searched for food. Soon, their little camp was the site of great activity as men pitched up tents, corralled the horses, and prepared for a night's stay in the valley.

When all the discussion had been completed and an alternate route had been chosen, Zuko finally looked up from his maps and really saw the place that Toph had found for them. For a moment, he was a bit taken aback. His Uncle was right. The valley was beautiful. More importantly, it was peaceful and restful, and he suddenly felt just how strained he had been by the events over the past few days. When he checked that all his men were stationed comfortably and there was no task that he could help finish, he decided to wander and explore the place for a while. He needed some time to be alone and to sift through his thoughts. Mercifully, Toph was nowhere to be seen—he supposed she was somewhere scouting their surroundings—so he didn't have to deal with her. He was actually starting to feel a semblance of serenity as he walked and meditated when, suddenly, his foot slipped on something and, with a surprised grunt, he fell to the ground.

He landed on something soft and, as he groped around to orient himself and get back to his feet, a sharp voice pierced his ears. "Get off of me, you jerk!" With a start, he realized that he had fallen on the prone figure of Toph Bei Fong and his hands were on certain delicate parts of her anatomy. Both his hands and his face suddenly burning with a heat that had nothing to do with his Firebending skills, he quickly and clumsily scrambled away from her then tripped again and fell flat on his face. Sheepishly, and oddly thankful that she could not have seen him, he sat up and glared at her.

She was sitting up and glaring at him too, and her expression was more frightening than his. "What did you think you were doing?" she shrieked. He noticed that her arms were protectively clutched against her chest where her soft—no, he was not going to think about that.

"I was just walking!" he huffed.

"And I was taking a nap when a Fire Nation oaf fell on me and manhandled me!" she snapped back.

"I did no such thing!" he protested hotly. "At least, not the manhandling part," he added somewhat lamely. "It was an accident."

By this time, Iroh and a group of Fire Nation soldiers were headed their way, attracted by all the shouting they were doing. When Zuko noticed them, he threw them his best glare. "Get back to work!" he ordered.

Iroh instantly turned on his heel and shooed the soldiers back to their camp. "You heard the Fire Lord, men. Let's go back. There's nothing to see here." Then he whispered to one of the captains. "May I borrow your far-seeing scope please?" He hoped Toph was too distracted at the moment to have heard him.

Toph and Zuko were now, for all intents and purposes, alone with each other. They spent several more minutes engaged in a silent battle of wills until, finally, the Fire Lord sighed. "Fine," he sounded weary. "All right. I apologize." He rose to his feet and started to walk away. So he didn't see the confused look on the Earthbender's face as she listened to him leave. She continued to hold her tongue for a few moments more, but then she seemed to come to a decision after an intense personal debate and she called out his name. "Zuko," she took a deep breath. "It's okay. You just startled me."

He stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her. She was carefully not looking at him. "I think," she hesitated then went on, "I think this childish fighting has gone on long enough. I mean, just because we're not exactly best friends doesn't mean we can't put stuff behind us and work together. So, truce?"

Zuko was a proud man, and he could recognize when an equally proud person was making an attempt to unbend. He nodded. "Yes. Truce." His tongue tingled with all the words they weren't saying, but he figured that an honest talk about the past was still beyond them both at this point. However, some progress had been made at least, and now they wouldn't have to be so prickly around each other all the time. He hoped so anyway.

"If—," Toph made a visible effort to force the words out of her throat, "if you want to, you can sit here for a bit. The earth is quite cool here because the source of the stream runs right underneath us. If you lie down and press your ear to the ground, you can hear it."

"Is that what you were doing here earlier?" he asked, curious in spite of himself.

"Before I took a nap," she replied. "But I don't need to press my ear against the earth to hear the source. I can hear it just fine now, and I can even feel it. It's like the rush of blood in your veins."

He regarded her in silence for a moment, then he sat down a short distance away from her. Then, slowly, he stretched out and tried to listen for the sound of the water source.

She guffawed. "I can't believe you fell for it!" Her eyes fairly sparkled with mischievous glee.

He scowled. "I thought we had agreed we weren't going to fight anymore?" he demanded. He was starting to get angry again. "Is this your idea of—?"

She cut him off. "Oh, hush. I was just teasing you." She had an angelic look on her face. "Teasing isn't considered fighting, you know. The latter would include earthquakes and firestorms, and none of that is happening right now. You shouldn't be so stuffy all the time, for heaven's sake."

He tried to keep his expression stern, but she was smiling and even giggling a little, and he could see at this instant just why Iroh was so fond of this blind, troublesome Earthbender. He didn't smile back, but his features softened and he laid himself against the ground with a sigh. She was still sitting, her entire body now loose and relaxed, and her unbound hair stirred as the cool late afternoon breezes played through its strands. He studied her and she returned his gaze openly. A strange little smile then twisted her lips.

He didn't ask her what it meant. And he didn't want to consider what he secretly hoped it meant.

oOo

Iroh folded the scope away with an absurdly pleased smile. Zuko and Toph had actually talked for several minutes, and they had not tried to kill each other. That certainly was a positive step forward for the two of them. Now if only—but, no. He was not going to meddle again. Let things progress as they would. He would just have to hope that they would both realize important truths before they found Zuko's bride and Toph would go away again, perhaps forever this time.

He glanced around the valley and beamed. Indeed, it was truly a lovely place.


	6. Chapter 6

It had taken their party two days of travel through thick forests but, finally, Lo-Man was within sight. And not a moment too soon as far as Toph was concerned. It had rained heavily while they tried their best to follow a path set down in an old Earth Kingdom map that they had procured back in Koshin, and the bad weather had made the trail extremely difficult to navigate. In the end, they might as well not have tried the other route at all, since it had only served to worsen their tempers, especially Zuko's.

But, now, Lo-Man was near, and Toph actually looked forward to sleeping in a real bed for once. The Earth was her element and it had always comforted her to rest on it, but lying down to sleep on muddy ground was a completely different matter. She had been so miserable shivering in the cold rain. It was an experience that she never wanted to repeat again. This whole trip seemed to be full of such happenings.

"I hope Lo-Man has a tea house," Iroh sighed. "My old bones need a warm cup of jasmine tea in order to feel better."

"I would settle for a roof over my head and ground that does not turn to liquid beneath my feet," Zuko muttered.

"Water is a terrible element!" Toph burst out. "It's cold and wet and stupid! Give me earth any time!"

Iroh chuckled. "Benders tend to feel that way about the other Elements they do not have mastery of. When I was a boy first learning how to bend fire to my will, I certainly believed that I was luckier than an Earthbender or a Waterbender."

It was rare for Iroh to reminisce fondly about his youth. Both Toph and Zuko found it fascinating to listen to him as he recounted several stories about his training in Firebending. They passed time this way until they were near the walls of the town. They greeted the sight with relief. Soon, they could all enjoy hot meals and hot baths, then they would continue their pursuit of Lady Ayumi and her captors once more. But then, as soon as the guards along the walls spotted them, alarms rang all throughout Lo-Man. "What in the world—?" Toph frowned in confusion.

A group of Earthbenders marched out of the gate and moved into positions where they could bar the way to the town. Then, they attacked.

"Get behind me!" Toph shouted as she quickly deflected the wave of earth that headed their way. Her bare feet traced a graceful pattern on the ground and Lo-Man's defenders found themselves thrown to the air as pillars of stone suddenly rose beneath them. Meanwhile, the Fire Nation soldiers, who were too well-trained not to instinctively respond to the presence of a threat, also attacked the Earthbenders. Soon, a fierce battle between the two groups was being fought and Toph was sure that, somehow, both sides had severely misunderstood each other's intentions. "This needs to stop!" she shouted, though no one paid her any mind. She gathered all her power and concentrated—and, one by one, the combatants were encased in rock until they were immobile. "No one do anything without me saying so," she commanded the Firebenders before she released them.

Zuko was furious. "They attacked us first! What did they think they were doing?"

"It looked to me like they were defending their town," Toph said. She went to one of the imprisoned Earthbenders who had only his head poking out of the rock that restrained him. " Why did you attack us?" she asked him.

"They're Fire Nation!" he spat. "They were going to invade our town. And you helped them, traitor!"

She hit him on the head. "We're the rescue party trying to get the Fire Lord's bride back from the Earthbenders who kidnapped her. We have no interest whatsoever in invading your town. We only came here because we heard that the kidnappers were on their way to Lo-Man."

"Oh?" the Earthbender looked confused.

Toph soon freed all the Earthbenders as a gesture of good faith. The town's ruling council then came out to talk with Zuko and light was shed on the circumstances that had led to all the misunderstanding. Some Earthbenders had passed through the town a few days earlier bearing the news that a company of Fire Nation soldiers was attacking all the settlements in their path. Frightened by this report, the townspeople had then prepared to defend themselves as well as they could. As for the people who had delivered the news about the fake invasion, they had lingered only long enough to replenish their supplies and gone on to the higher reaches of the mountains. Upon hearing this, Zuko pressed the council for any clue that they could share regarding the eventual destination of the kidnappers.

"Ours is the last town you can find in this region," one of the old men said. "There are a few small villages here and there, so it is possible that those who abducted your bride may be headed to one of those places. But I'm afraid that we cannot give you any certain information."

Though he was now incredibly frustrated, Zuko thanked the council politely and made a deal with them that would allow their party to buy the supplies they needed before they proceeded on their journey. He also requested that their group be allowed to stay in an inn for the night, for which they would pay handsomely. This was, of course, agreed to, and so they searched for an establishment that could put them up in comfort. They found one near the center of the town and quickly settled the matter of their accommodations. They all needed some rest after their relentless march over the past few days, so everyone was thankful when they were finally able to get out of their wet clothes and enjoy a good meal.

"I think I would much rather chase the Avatar all over the world again than continue this mission."the Fire Lord said glumly during dinner that night. "This feels like a neverending aimless chase taking us to nowhere."

"What I find worrisome is the fact that these Earthbenders seem determined to elude us at all costs," Iroh told them. "If they were mere kidnappers, then they would have sought us out long ago to give us their demands for the return of Lady Ayumi. But we have received no such demands."

"So what do you suppose are their true intentions?" Toph wondered.

The old man frowned. "I can only speculate, but I'm beginning to think that this kidnapping may not be motivated by a desire for money. It is possible that it is some kind of revenge plot against the Fire Lord or the Fire Nation, or it could be a matter of political machination. Until we question the kidnappers themselves, then we may not know."

At his Uncle's words, Zuko looked grimmer than ever. Whatever may be the reason behind Lady Ayumi's abduction, the guilt could be laid at his feet. He had chosen to wed her, and that had brought her to the attention of men who were likely ruthless enough to harm an innocent in order to gain an advantage over him. So, no matter what the cost, he had to rescue her. It was a matter of honor and he could not afford to fail.


	7. Chapter 7

A loud thump woke Zuko from a fitful sleep later that night. It was followed by the groan of someone who sounded like he or she was in pain. Worried, he rose from his bed and went out into the hallway. He listened carefully for any noise that would give him a clue where the sounds had come from. Suddenly, there was a loud crash as something, perhaps a jug, fell to the floor, followed by some muffled cursing. Hesitantly, he approached the door that he guessed was the right one and knocked softly. "Hello?" he whispered. "Are you all right?" He didn't know who occupied the room, and he had been too tired to take note of each of his companions' sleeping quarters, but when he heard a sullen, "Go away!", he knew.

"Toph?" It felt strange to say her name. He thought it was the first time he had done so since they went off on this misadventure. "Is everything okay?"

There was no answer. After several minutes of silence, he made a decision and opened the door.

Toph Bei Fong was lying face down on the floor in her darkened room, seemingly asleep. Concerned for her well-being in spite of himself, he went to her side to check if she was all right. Perhaps she had fallen off her bed and was hurt. "Toph?" he whispered her name again. He brushed her hair away so he could make out her face in the moonlight shining into the room. To his surprise, he saw that her eyes were wide open. They looked right at him.

"I fell," she said simply, her words slurred. He realized that she had been drinking.

He frowned. "Were you trying to get drunk?"

"Not trying. Succeeded. Your soldiers tried to cheat me at dice. But when they couldn't, they challenged me to a drinking contest instead. I still won." Her cocky grin flashed for a second. "But I can't seem to find the bed now."

He smothered a smile. She was utterly ridiculous but, somehow, he didn't mind. "Here. Let me help." He bundled her into his arms and lifted her off the floor quite easily. She felt so light, like she wasn't really there. To his confusion, she giggled and placed a hand against his chest.

"You're stronger than you look," she said. Her fingers were lazily tracing circles on his chest and her touch seemed to burn right through the fabric of his clothes. He stood paralyzed for a moment before he remembered to lay her down on the bed. Then he just stared at her awkwardly, unsure of what to do next. She seemed to sense his confusion and she smiled as if she knew a secret he didn't. Suddenly, she held out a hand and tried to reach for him. "Come," was all she said, and he found himself slipping into the bed with her. They both lay there without speaking for a long moment, just facing each other.

"I wanted to kill you last year," she told him. She sounded very sad and he felt a pang go through his heart. "Or bury you alive. Or get Sokka to beat you up. Get the Boulder to beat you up, too. Poison your food. Get Katara to drown you. Get Aang to do—whatever it is he does. Stab you in your stupid face, and so on. Basically, I spent months coming up with the most creative and brutal ways to end your miserable life." She didn't sound repentant as she revealed all these angry thoughts to him.

"Did you really hate me that much?" he asked. He didn't really want to know her answer, but he had to ask.

"Yes," she admitted, and something died inside of him. "But then I started thinking." The something began to stir again. "You really didn't know, did you?"

"I really didn't know." They were still not talking about it directly, but this was a start.

"My parents disowned me because of what happened," she now confessed. "And I was too ashamed and too proud that I never even told Aang and the others."

He was aghast. "How could they do that to you? How have you lived all this time?"

"Oh, they're very capable of disowning a daughter that disgraced herself by turning her back on her duty. So I went away and took odd jobs, like the one for the guys who turned out to be royal bridenappers." She suddenly smiled reassuringly. She must have sensed the concern he was feeling on her behalf. "It wasn't too bad. At least I never starved."

"But you were all alone," he said softly.

"Yeah. That part sucked." She still managed to grin, and he thought he had never met anyone who could stand so strong against whatever life threw at her.

At that moment, Zuko decided to obey his impulses for the first time in a long while. He closed the distance between them and captured her lips with his own. She gasped in surprise—and that only allowed him to deepen the kiss until, finally, she began to respond and kiss him with the same passion. Tomorrow, he would remember that he was betrothed. Tomorrow, he would search for the woman he had promised to marry. But, for now, none of that mattered. He was with her, the one who had haunted his fevered dreams for so long. If this was the only chance he would get to kiss her, touch her, then so be it. He would make it last as long as he could.

"Zuko," she murmured in between his kisses, "Zuko, no. Please stop." She pulled herself away from him gently. "We can't." She looked torn, yet resolute.

He took a deep breath to steady his racing pulse. He touched her face and traced her lips with his fingers, aching with wanting. "Can I just stay here?" he pleaded. "Just let me stay. I won't let that happen again."

She took his hand in hers. "Yes. Please stay."


	8. Chapter 8

Zuko stirred in his sleep when he heard the door swing open. However, he was feeling too comfortable to fully awaken just yet. He had his arms around someone and that person felt warm and soft. Even in his dream-addled mind, he could not remember the last time he had slept so well, and he wanted to hold on to the peace that he was feeling for as long as possible. So he burrowed deeper into the covers and pulled them over his head. But the sounds of someone moving around the room still persisted in penetrating through his unconsciousness.

Light footsteps pattered on the floor and headed for the fireplace. Logs were carefully positioned in the shallow pit and a match was struck to burn the dry wood and warm the room. The footsteps then proceeded to the table in the corner where a tea set could be found, and the noises of someone preparing tea filled the quiet for several minutes before the soothing aroma of the beverage permeated the air. Then, whoever it was moved to the window and the thick curtains were slowly drawn back all the way so that the full glow of the early morning sunlight could shine into the room.

A slight shadow moved to the foot of the bed and a meek little voice spoke. "G-good morning, my Lady. I've prepared your tea for you and the cook would like me to ask what you wish to eat for your breakfast." There was a moment's uncertainty when no answer to the inquiry came. Then, "M-my Lady? Shall I return l-later?"

Toph growled as she woke. She sat up grumpily, her long hair a hopeless tangle framing her face, and tossed away the covers carelessly so that they made a mess on the floor. "Good heavens, what time is it?" she grumbled and fixed the servant girl with a death glare. She never liked being awakened so early in the morning. Back when she still lived in her parents' house, the family retainers had known very well that to go into her room before noon would be inviting a tantrum that could ruin the rest of their day.

The servant girl's eyes suddenly widened in shock and she said something that sounded a lot like "Eeep!" Then, without another word, she scampered out of the room as if she was on fire.

"Hey! Tell your cook I want egg rolls!" Toph shouted after her, shaking her head in exasperation over the girl's reaction to her glare. Her family's servants had never been that easy to intimidate. She started to get out of bed—then she stopped moving. Slowly, stiffly, she turned and found herself facing none other than the ruler of the Fire Nation himself. And what had happened, as well as what had almost happened, during the past night came back to her. She groaned. "Oh, please tell me everything was just a dream!"

Zuko sat up in bed too and smiled at her a bit tentatively. He didn't know how to act around her now in the bright light of day, so he settled for saying, "Good morning." Then he watched her very carefully so he would get a clue on how she wanted them to proceed from here on in.

"That is absolutely the last time I drink with Fire Nation soldiers!" she vowed angrily. "Ugh. What was I thinking?" She stared at him, her clouded eyes burning and intense. "This hasn't changed anything, you know. I mean, it hasn't changed why we're here and what we're doing—which is trying to get your bride back for you."

If last night had not happened, if they had not talked and revealed more than their words conveyed with their actions, he would have missed the sadness and despair concealed beneath her furious tone. "Toph, I—" He tried to reach for her, but whatever he was about to say was interrupted by the sudden arrival of the servant girl, Iroh, Lo-Man's council of elders, and perhaps half the townspeople. A few seconds later, his soldiers showed up, too. Needless to say, both he and Toph were extremely puzzled by this new development.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, getting off the bed and standing up to look as dignified as he could with messy hair. Toph moved to stand beside him a few moments later.

"You see?" said the servant girl to everyone within earshot. "It is as I said. They have spent the night in the same bed. It is a scandal the likes of which our town has never seen! This Fire Nation man has disgraced an Earth Kingdom woman!"

"What?" Toph screeched in outrage at the accusation while Zuko was too flabbergasted to think of a reply.

The oldest of Lo-Man's council stepped forward unsteadily, leaning his weight on his iron cane, and gazed at the two of them with a stern expression. "Is this true? Have you lain in the same bed?" His voice sounded thin and quavery.

"I was drunk and we just fell asleep together!" Toph protested before realizing she wasn't helping her cause. "But nothing happened!" she quickly added. "We just slept a completely innocent and non-disgraceful sleep." She was babbling now and she abruptly shut her mouth, angry with herself for how she couldn't even string a coherent sentence in her defense.

The elder looked at Zuko. "And you, Fire Lord? What have you to say to explain yourself?"

He was going to say that nothing had happened, that he had not disgraced Toph, but then he suddenly remembered the fire that had ignited in his veins when he kissed her. He remembered the feel and the taste of her mouth. And so, to his utter mortification, Zuko felt his face heat up and redden as he blushed like a maiden.

The elder nodded. "You and the woman will be brought before the Mother of our council for judgment. Take them away."

"Zuko?" Iroh looked at him questioningly as two large Earthbenders grabbed him. He knew that his Uncle merely awaited a sign from him then the old general and his soldiers would fight everyone in their way to set him free. But Zuko only shook his head. "We'll explain things better before the council," he promised as he was led away. Toph and her escorts were only a few steps behind him.

Once they were out on the street, she quickened her feet to march up alongside him. Then she smacked him on the head. "Ow! What was that for?" he asked.

She glared at him. "Would it have killed you to let them know that nothing happened between us?" she hissed.

"Like you were doing such a fine job of defending us," he retorted. "Don't worry. I'll make sure to clear everything up with this Mother of the council, whoever she is. Then they'll let us go."

She rolled her eyes heavenward as if praying for strength to endure his stupidity. "Princess, I don't know how you people go about it in the Fire Nation but, in the Earth Kingdom, when an unmarried man and an unmarried woman get caught in circumstances similar to ours, they get sentenced to hard labor. And if one of them happens to be married, then the punishment is even worse. In your case, you're betrothed, which makes you practically married, so we're as good as doomed."

He shrugged. "As good as doomed is not necessarily doomed," he pointed out. "We can still get out of this."

She looked stunned. "Now you develop a positive attitude? It's a sign," she sighed melodramatically. "We're beyond doomed."

His lips twitched as he bit back a smile. Things were not looking very well for them right now, but having her with him gave him hope that the matter would be successfully resolved. It had to be resolved—because he didn't relish having to fight their way to freedom since innocent people could end up being harmed. He prayed that it would not come to that.


	9. Chapter 9

Their escorts led them to the most imposing building in the town. It was made of smooth stone that had been carefully bended into graceful pillars and arches. However, as was typical in most Earth Kingdom buildings, the floor was nothing but tightly-packed soil. With the council walking before them, they were ushered into a hall that had a row of flattened large rocks at its end on which the elders then sat on. Toph and Zuko were made to kneel down before them as the hall filled up with people who were eager to witness their judgment. Though it was a serious matter, the atmosphere was almost festive. The townspeople had never experienced so much excitement before. Ever since these Fire Nation citizens and the blind Earthbender had arrived, Lo-Man had ceased being a boring mountain town.

The oldest council member rapped his cane on the side of his stone chair and cried out, "Silence!" The buzz of more than a dozen conversations immediately died down. "We call forth—the Mother!" he announced as grandly as he could manage.

The ground trembled. A hole appeared and began to widen before Toph and Zuko. From this hole slowly rose a head covered in thick veils, then a thin body dressed in old robes until, finally, a woman stood before them. Every part of her was covered in fabric, so they could not tell if she was young or old. She swayed on her feet for a moment, then she walked towards them with a shuffling gait. A voice that was like the sound of two rocks rubbing against each other deep within the earth issued from behind her veil. She spoke a language that neither Zuko nor Toph understood, but the oldest council member did, and he replied to her in the same tongue.

Slowly, she circled the two of them, seemingly asking questions since the oldest spoke in her language whenever she stopped talking. Eventually, she came near enough to them to touch Zuko's scar then Toph's clouded eyes. She said something then, and it must have upset the oldest because his voice rose when he made his reply. They went back and forth for a long while until the oldest finally sighed and threw up his hands in surrender. The Mother nodded, satisfied, and circled the couple again. This time, she seemed to be chanting something since her words had a singsong cadence. Her hands fumbled for an object inside her many robes until she pulled out a crystal flask. She opened it and the scent of a sweet-smelling oil escaped. She poured a few drops of the oil on Zuko's head, then Toph's, her voice never breaking her chant. Finally, when everyone except the Mother and the oldest council member were feeling thoroughly confused about what was happening, the chant stopped. She took a step back and just looked at them in silence.

"Okay. What just happened?" Toph muttered to Zuko out of the corner of her mouth.

"I have no idea," he said in reply. He hoped the Mother hadn't just given them their last rites and the two of them would not be stoned to death at any moment.

The oldest rose from his seat. He looked incredibly annoyed, yet resigned. "I congratulate you," he intoned sullenly. "You may now kiss the bride."

Toph and Zuko stared at him in complete shock. "What?" they both shouted at the same time.

oOo

Iroh knew he should not appear so pleased, but he could not help grinning as he beckoned to one of the inn's servants. "Boy! Bring us more wine!" The soldiers cheered when they heard his words and they loudly made another toast to the health of their Fire Lord and their new Fire Lady.

After the judgment that had somehow turned into a wedding, Iroh had rushed Zuko and Toph back to the inn's dining room for a celebration. The townspeople of Lo-Man, now enjoying themselves more than ever at this turn of events, eagerly joined in the merriment. So the inn swiftly became packed full of revelers feasting on the food and wine that Iroh kept purchasing with his gold. However, there were two people who were not participating in the well-wishing and celebrating, and they were the newly wedded pair themselves. Zuko sat stiffly in his chair, ignoring the dishes laid out before him, while Toph glowered at everyone who came near her, drinking one glass of wine after another.

They had not said one word to each other since they had left the council's hall, but now the Fire Lord turned to his new wife and spoke, "We should probably talk about this." Inwardly, he braced himself for what he was sure would be a very trying conversation.

Toph snorted. "You think?" She drank down the wine left in her glass in one big swallow. "So? Start talking."

He sighed. "I would prefer for us to talk in private."

After a minute's silence, she nodded. "Let's go then." They both stood up and, instantly, all eyes were on the two of them. His humiliation complete, Zuko reddened for the second time that day. "My wife—" his tongue stumbled over the word, "and I thank you for celebrating this occasion with us. Now please excuse us while we discuss our plans for the future in private."

The crowd immediately broke out into ribald cheers. Somehow, Zuko managed to walk out with the little dignity he had left while Toph strode quickly by his side. In silent agreement, they slipped into her room where she very pointedly sat down on a chair as far away from the rumpled bed as possible. He did the same, and they soon faced each other from the opposite sides of the room.

Toph was the first one to speak. "How sure are we that we're really married?" she asked.

"Everyone downstairs seems to be very positive about that fact," Zuko replied.

"Oh, gods. We're married." She sounded horrified.

He was offended. "It's not the worst thing that could have happened. We could have been sentenced to hard labor."

"But what about Lady Ayumi? Remember her? Your bride that we're supposed to rescue? How are you going to marry her now when you're already married to me?"

He regarded her carefully. "We will still rescue her," he said slowly. "It's the least I can do now that I've effectively jilted her. The proper reparations will be made to her family."

"Then what?" she demanded. "What happens after that?"

"We return to the Fire Nation so we can be wedded in a royal ceremony," he said simply. He couldn't understand why she seemed to be seeing obstacles when none existed. The deed was done. They were married now and she would be formally crowned as the Fire Lady once they went back to his country. Lord Jiro would probably curse him for breaking his word, but he was sure the man would accept the new circumstances once Zuko told him he didn't have to return the dowry he paid for Lady Ayumi. All in all, he was not displeased at how things had turned out. He made a mental note to give the servant girl who had discovered them in Toph's bed a few gold coins before they left Lo-Man.

"Are you being deliberately obtuse?" she snapped. "Don't you realize what this could do to you as the Fire Lord? You need an advantageous marriage to a well-connected Earth Kingdom noblewoman so that the other nations would start trusting you. Now you've lost that chance."

Zuko frowned at her. "If I remember rightly, you're a daughter of the Bei Fong clan, perhaps the richest family in the Earth Kingdom next to the royal house. That makes you a very well-connected noblewoman who also happens to be one of the Avatar's closest companions. I could not find a better bride than you now that Lady Ayumi is no longer an option."

She scowled. "I'm a disowned daughter," she reminded him. "Hardly the perfect candidate."

"I'm sure your family will soon reconsider their opinion on that once they learn you have wedded the Fire Lord," he said confidently. "Now what other protests and imaginary objections do you intend to make? Please share them all now while I still care to listen to them."

An expression of astonishment came over her face. "That's it? We got married unknowingly, you're certain to face a great amount of scandal once this piece of news gets out, the woman you originally intended to marry is still missing, and you're completely fine with everything? No brooding or introspective drama at all?" Her voice dripped with disbelief.

"Of course I'm completely fine with everything," he assured her haughtily. He found her question absurd.

"But why?" she wanted to know. This was so unlike him.

His lips quirked in a smile. "Because now I'm with you."


	10. Chapter 10

Fire Nation soldiers were the hardiest men in the world. They possessed a long tradition of intensive training and discipline that honed their combat and Firebending skills to the keenness of a razor's edge. A hundred years of war and conquest had also instilled a strong sense of pride and courage within them that had not been overcome even by defeat. They could face the worst horrors imaginable and they would not flinch. But they were certainly flinching now.

Four days had passed since their party had left Lo-Man. The entire town had turned out to bid them good luck and goodbye before their departure, truly sorry to see the most entertaining group of visitors the townspeople had ever met go on their way. During the first day they resumed their journey, the soldiers had hidden their grins whenever they encountered their Fire Lord and his bride, clearly remembering the circumstances that had led to their sudden marriage. Zuko had only scowled back at them. On the second day, they had all carefully pretended to be deaf when the newlyweds had a brief and colorful argument about the Fire Lord apparently hogging all the blankets and snoring. This time, Zuko ordered them all to go off on a marching exercise in the dead of night, supposedly to keep their skills sharp and well-conditioned. On the third day, they were uncomfortable spectators when the Fire Lord and his Earthbender wife tried to settle the matter of which element was greater through an all-out bending challenge. After they dug out Zuko from the pit Lady Toph had left him in, and tried to console him by saying that they knew he was merely holding himself back during the fight, their evil overlord had done the unthinkable and confiscated all their bottles of wine. And, somewhere in between all of these shenanigans, they had managed to search a good number of villages where they had hoped to find the people they were pursuing. Truly, the soldiers had put up with a lot during the whole journey and they had held steady all throughout but, now, they finally seemed to have reached their breaking point.

Iroh glowered at the sheepish-looking men gathered behind him. "Cowards!" he said exasperatedly, then he turned and looked at the entrance to the Fire Lord's tent. Raised voices sharp enough to make his ears bleed came from within. The ground rumbled beneath his feet and the dark interior suddenly lit up with a bright flash of fire. More shouts and curses followed, in words that Iroh himself would have blushed to say. Then the earth shook violently, and they were all thrown of their feet. The old general stood up again as quickly as he could and gazed at the tent with true alarm now. He was just about to rush inside, dreading what he might find, when Toph Bei Fong—no, Fire Lady Toph marched out with furious strides. Once the soldiers saw the expression on her face, they all scampered out of the way. Iroh then swiftly went into the tent to check if Zuko was still alive.

"Nephew? Nephew, are you all right?" he cried out.

"Here," Zuko groaned. Iroh saw he was sitting on the bed he shared with his new wife, cleaning the dirt on his face with a wet piece of cloth. He grimaced at his Uncle's questioning look. "Is it normal to fight like this when you're newly married?" he wanted to know.

"It depends on the natures of the couple," Iroh answered carefully. "What was the fight about? Toph looked very angry when she came out of here."

The Fire Lord sighed. "She wanted to go off on her own and scout the remaining two villages in these mountains that we haven't checked yet. I, of course, forbade her to go since she would be needlessly putting her life in danger. Then, things just sort of deteriorated from there." He sighed again. "So that's the eighth thing I've learned not to do with her."

"You are keeping a list?" Iroh tried not to let the amusement show in his tone.

"Of course," Zuko nodded. "If I intend to live long enough to sire an heir, then I need to get along with that impossible woman."

"A very wise move then. But, aside from these fights, I hope the two of you are indeed getting along?" the old man asked delicately.

When he realized that there was another meaning he could take from his Uncle's words, Zuko coughed and reddened slightly. "Yes. Yes, of course," he said quickly. He stood up, went to a table, and poured himself a glass of water that he drank down in one long gulp. "So what do you advise I should do?" he inquired to change the subject. "About letting her go off and scout the villages, I mean. She's so stubborn that I wouldn't be surprised if she's half-way to the next one on the map right now. It's not that I doubt she can take care of herself. It's just that I don't want her to get hurt, but she doesn't seem to understand that."

"Let me find her and talk to her, Nephew," Iroh told him. "Perhaps I would be able to resolve this matter between the two of you."

"All right," Zuko conceded, and Iroh started to make his way outside to search for Toph. Then his nephew spoke again. "Uncle?" He turned to look back at the young man that he considered his son. "When you talk to her, tell her—tell her I don't like it when she's away from me for too long. That's another reason why I don't want her to go off alone on a mission."

Iroh nodded and smiled. "Yes. I will tell her." Then he stepped outside and was gone.

oOo

It wasn't hard for Iroh to find Toph. He just had to follow a small path of destruction and, soon, he was at a clearing that suddenly dropped off at the edge and offered a spectacular view of the mountains. She was sitting on a large rock and moodily staring out into the distance.

"Toph?" he said her name gently. "Are you all right?"

She huffed. "I can't believe I married the stupid one in your family. He actually had the nerve to think he could tell me what to do. He may be my husband now, but he doesn't own me!"

The man regarded as the Dragon of the West had not reached his current age without attaining a good amount of wisdom and, upon hearing her words, he understood exactly what was bothering the girl both he and his nephew cared for deeply. He also knew that she had to be the one to admit it to herself. "May I sit?" he began, and Toph obliged him by bending another rock to appear beside hers. He settled down on it with a grateful sigh. "My little Toph," he said, "tell me what is on your mind. You may speak openly. Right now, I am your friend and not Zuko's Uncle." He hoped that would get her to start sorting through her thoughts and feelings.

Her face twisted for a moment as if she was in pain but, being who she was, she simply moved past it and went straight to the heart of what was causing her a lot of worry and confusion. "I'm scared, Iroh," Toph admitted. "What if we just made a huge mistake not fighting against that crazy woman who married us? Being married and being Fire Lady—those are two great responsibilities that I had believed I would never get to have, not after what happened about a year ago. Sure, I was ready to take them on when I was trying to be a good Earth Kingdom citizen and daughter, but now—I've realized a few things since then, and I'm too settled into being myself that I don't think I can stand living a life where I have to be a proper lady, let alone a wife. And his wife too!"

She got up and began to pace. "He's meant to be a great Fire Lord. He paid a horrible price to help end the war simply because he believed in something better than his father's vision for the world. He needs a wife who can help him rebuild what Ozai destroyed, someone who can be royal and wise and kind, and I don't really want to be any of those things! I want—I want," she floundered, at a sudden loss for words.

"What do you want, Toph?" Iroh prompted.

She bit her lip, then let out a sigh. "But I want to make him happy," she confessed. She turned to Iroh, looking dismayed. "Isn't it awful? If Katara heard me now, I'm sure she'd be all like, 'I knew you had a girl's heart somewhere, Toph!' That preachy little Waterbender. But, oh, I wish she was here so I could talk to her about it because she always knows what to say, and she understands all this love stuff better than I ever could, and she'd probably kill me because she wasn't my maid of honor or something. Am I making any sense?" she demanded.

Iroh nodded, a fond smile on his face. "Yes, perfectly."

"So what do I do?" she wanted to know. "How do I deal with this?"

"Toph," Iroh stood up and went to her to clasp her hands in his. "I can only give you advice that you have undoubtedly heard before, but it is still nevertheless true. Let your heart guide you. It will not lead you astray, it will not make you less of who you are. But you have to let it speak, especially to another heart."

At his words, a tear slowly slipped from the corner of her eye, then she laughed quite merrily. "Okay. That sounds a lot better than anything Katara could have said." She suddenly hugged him. "Thanks, Iroh, for listening. And everything else."

That night, the Fire Nation soldiers got their wine back, and they all drank a toast to Prince Iroh the incomparable Dragon of the West.


	11. Chapter 11

The village was quiet, too quiet. Zuko exchanged a concerned look with Iroh before nodding to one of his captains. It was the signal to let a group of select Fire Nation soldiers approach the place while the rest lay concealed in the nearby woods. "I don't like this," the Fire Lord whispered after the captain ordered the men to move out. Both Iroh and Toph nodded in agreement.

"I can hear people breathing inside some of the houses," Toph said, "but they're not moving much and they're definitely not talking. It's weird." Her cloudy jade eyes gleamed at the thought that they might be facing a fight. It had been a while since she had squared off against fellow Earthbenders. The ones back in Lo-Man had been too easy to beat, so she didn't really count them.

"So this could be it, the place where the kidnappers are hiding," Iroh surmised. "If all goes well, we could all be safe and headed home by tonight."

Toph punched the old man playfully. "Oh, now you've done it. You never say things like that without inviting the universe to prove you wrong," she teased, and Iroh chuckled, unrepentant.

Zuko looked at his Uncle and his wife with great fondness. He was glad that Toph had finally forgiven Iroh for meddling in their lives and unintentionally causing a lot of hurt for all three of them over a year ago. They all still had a lot of work to do in order to fully earn their happiness but, at least, they had already taken the first steps towards building a new life together. He and Toph, though not exactly the perfectly married couple, were enjoying all the little details of getting to know each other better every day. He then made a silent promise to himself that once they rescued Lady Ayumi, he would take his new wife somewhere and have a proper honeymoon that didn't involve chasing after kidnappers and camping in forests. He would leave Iroh in charge of the Fire Nation for a few months and treat his wife to all the luxuries he could possibly think of, which he was sure she would just ignore, but he would make the grand gesture anyway. Smiling to himself, Zuko realized that he had just done the same thing that Toph had chided Iroh for and, in his mind, he entreated the universe not to punish him for being uncharacteristically optimistic. "As nice as it is to think our journey's almost at an end," he said to the two, "we really should pay more attention to what's happening to our men in the village. We don't want to be taken by surprise." The three of them then watched intently as the soldiers slowly made their way into the quiet little settlement.

It was the last one they had yet to check because it was located farthest up the mountainside. During a brief reconnaissance mission earlier, they had counted only seventeen cottages and one building that appeared to be a shrine of some sort. The structures were clustered around an old well, the only source of water they had seen in these parts. The simple cottages looked a little weather-beaten but sturdy, and the shrine was apparently well-cared for judging by its bright coat of new paint and embroidered banners. All in all, the place seemed very similar to the other villages they had explored. But there were no children playing outside, no women gossiping around the well, no men working in the woods. The silence was eerie.

The captain in charge of the group gave a command and the soldiers split up to investigate each of the cottages. Two of the buildings were apparently empty, since the men who went in came back out almost immediately. However, six soldiers had different luck. As soon as they opened the doors of the cottages they were checking, they were blasted back by large slabs of rock. Then, moving with a deadly purpose, Earthbenders in the unmistakable uniforms of the Dai Li came out of the cottages and attacked the soldiers. Zuko cursed and, before he could even give the order for the rest of his company to go help the others, Toph had already left his side. She gleefully joined the fight with a high-pitched battle cry and, soon, most of the Earthbenders became absorbed in fighting against her attacks instead of engaging the Fire Nation soldiers. Zuko told Iroh to find Lady Ayumi and he himself went to Toph's aid, ready to give her a tongue lashing for being headstrong and reckless. But he had yet to reach her when a bolt of lightning sliced through the air and hit her on the back. Toph collapsed to the ground and Zuko's blood turned cold.

His sister Azula, who was supposed to be imprisoned in the Boiling Rock to his knowledge, casually strolled out of the shrine with a pair of Dai Li agents trailing after her. They were carrying what appeared to be a lumpy sack between them. She smiled at him. "What a lovely day we're having," she idly observed. "And you are looking extremely well, Zuzu."

"How—?" he was too shocked to finish his question.

She smirked. "You should really pay a visit to your most secure prison from time to time, Fire Lord, and make certain that it is really secure," she told him teasingly. "And you should hire new prison staff too while you're at it, since the Warden and his men have been recently—terminated."

Zuko felt sick at the images her words conjured in his head. But he steadied himself. He would not let her see how she had unsettled him. "Where is Lady Ayumi?" he demanded. Even as he spoke, there was nothing he wanted to do more than to rush to Toph's side and see if she was all right. He felt panic and worry start to claw at his insides, and he pushed the debilitating emotions back. "Don't make me ask you again, Azula."

"Oh, very well," she shrugged. "Since you've obviously missed your little bride so much—" She made a gesture to her two Earthbender escorts and they dropped the sack to the ground. But it wasn't a sack. It was a large piece of cloth covering a slight human form. Azula then used her foot to push aside the cloth until the cold, dead face of Lady Ayumi was finally revealed.

Feeling his gorge rise, Zuko abandoned all thoughts of appearing in control and lashed out at his sister with fire. She quickly deflected his attack with a shield of her own flames then followed this with a bolt of lightning that barely missed his head. They fought furiously, Azula laughing like the madwoman she was all the while. As they moved and changed positions during their battle, Zuko realized that they had ended up only a few feet away from Toph. With a growing rage, he saw that she was still unconscious and her back had an ugly burn wound where his sister's lightning had struck. He became even more ferocious as he threw fireball after fireball at Azula, who kept blocking or deflecting them. Finally, one managed to slip through her defenses and knock her down. Zuko moved in swiftly to press his advantage.

"The Fire Lady! Help the Fire Lady!"

Azula's eyes widened in surprise when she heard the command come from one of the Fire Nation captains. Then, a gleeful smile spread across her face when she saw some of the soldiers run to Toph's side. Zuko's movement was stilled and he was suddenly filled with a deep sense of foreboding.

"Well, well," she licked her lips in relish. "Isn't this interesting?"

"You won't touch her!" he cried out in anger and sent a searing blast of fire straight towards his sister. A solid wall of earth suddenly rose to protect Azula from the flames and, before Zuko could launch another attack, he felt something sharp and cold go through him. Dully, he looked down and saw the edge of a sword protruding from his chest. "No," he managed to say faintly before he fell to his knees. The sword was retracted smoothly and blood gushed out of his wound. Someone kicked him then and he landed face down on the ground.

"Toph," he tried to call for her, but darkness claimed him before he could finish saying her name.

oOo

"Zuko." It was a familiar voice, one he hadn't heard in a long time but had never forgotten. That voice was comfort and safety and love. He had thought that he would never get to hear it again, but now it was calling him. He struggled to open his eyes.

"Zuko, please don't give up," the voice pleaded. "Please, darling. Come back."

Light seeped in through his eyelids and he blinked. He could see nothing at first except the light until, slowly, a form darkened and took shape before his eyes. A face covered in veils was looking down at him. "Zuko?" the familiar voice came from behind the layers of fabric, followed by a sob. Then, one by one, the cloths were carelessly pulled back until he was staring at someone both deeply beloved and believed to be long lost.

"Mother."


	12. Chapter 12

The years of exile had not been kind to Ursa. There were deep creases around her eyes and a perpetual frown seemed to have set itself firmly on her mouth. The lustrous dark hair that Iroh remembered was matted with dirt and her skin had an unhealthy pallor. She looked like she had been living in a cave, and the old general supposed that was not too far from the truth. But one thing had remained unchanged about his brother's wife: she still carried herself with pride. She returned his measuring stare with one of her own without any sign of embarrassment or guilt, and he was the one who eventually looked away first.

Iroh gazed worriedly at his nephew's still form. After one of the Dai Li agents had stabbed Zuko in the back, the fight had quickly ended. He had been too stunned by the sight of Zuko lying unconscious on the ground that he had not been able to muster enough strength to take charge of their remaining soldiers. For several heartbreaking moments, he had felt as if he was seeing Lu Ten dying in the battlefield outside Ba Sing Se. The same feelings of grief and weakness had come over him, and he had fallen to his knees in despair. One of the captains had grabbed him and pulled him to his feet, then the man had shouted orders for everyone to fall back. Some soldiers had picked up their wounded Fire Lord while others had tried to retrieve their Fire Lady. However, Azula and her Dai Li had quickly massacred them and were about to attack once more, which would have certainly been disastrous for the rest, when two unexpected rescuers had arrived.

The oldest council member from Lo-Man and the veiled Mother had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, then the old man had started to drive the Dai Li back with an impressive display of Earthbending skills. Azula then tried to throw lightning at him, but the Mother had stepped in and, to everyone's shock, blocked her strike with a solid arc of white fire. Seemingly outclassed for once, the Fire Nation Princess and her henchmen had retreated. And they had taken Toph with them. Iroh had no idea if she was even still alive at this point.

The Mother had then rushed towards Zuko, sobbing out his name. He had seemed to rouse for a moment and she had quickly thrown back her veils to reveal her face. The Fire Nation soldiers had not reacted—for they had probably never seen her while she still lived in the Palace—but Iroh had not failed to recognize his exiled sister-in-law almost at once.

At present, they were all recuperating in the village's shrine. The Lo-Man elder was tending to the surviving soldiers' wounds after he had made sure that Zuko would live. He had said something to Ursa in the strange language they shared before he had left the Fire Lord's side, and she had nodded gratefully and kissed his hands. She sat beside her son now, brushing back the hair from his pale face whenever his body twitched and twisted from the pain of his wound, and she crooned something under her breath that Iroh eventually recognized as an old lullaby. After what seemed like hours, Zuko's breathing finally eased and he slipped into true slumber. She let out a sigh of relief, then she spoke.

"I'm sure you have questions," she said to Iroh. "Why don't you ask them now?"

He nodded. He was indeed full of questions for her. "I will start with this then: how did you come to be here in the Earth Kingdom?"

She shrugged. "I thought it would be the safest place for an exile like me. I wandered for a while, aimless, afraid for my life at every moment. I first tried to lose myself in the cities, believing I would just be another face among thousands." Iroh could see the loneliness and the despair she had felt then reflected in her eyes. "But I found that I could not live among other people anymore. I could not pretend to be one of them. So I sought refuge in the mountains, far away from other humans. I lived with nothing but my regrets and my guilt for years."

Zuko suddenly cried out, caught in the grip of a nightmare, and she quickly hushed him by humming a lullaby again until he quieted. She then continued with her story. "But one day, while I was exploring a part of the mountain I had never been to before, I came across an old man—Yun Dao—who was burying an old woman by himself. I offered to help him because I could see how great his grief was, and he told me about the dead woman as we were laying her to rest. She was called their Mother, their seer and their judge, the final authority in their town council. She was a descendant of the Hidden Ones, the spirits of the underground. But more important than all of that, she was once a young girl that he had loved, that he would always love." She smiled bitterly. "I found his story quite amazing, considering my own experience in loving a young man who only perverted what I felt for him."

"But how did you come to take her place?" Iroh wondered.

"Yun Dao took me to the cave where she had lived," Ursa replied. "He wanted me to help him burn all her things so they would follow her into the spirit world. But something very strange happened. The spirits of the cave awoke and spoke to me. They tore into my mind and laid bare the crime I had committed, and they told me terrible things would happen because of what I had done. They showed me what would happen, and I wanted to die because of my horrible guilt. Then they asked me: what judgment would I pass on myself?" A haunted look came over her face as she relived this particular moment in her memory. "My answer must have pleased them—because they then chose me to become their new medium. And I have served my penance ever since."

She had all but confessed to the crime he had always suspected was the cause of her exile, but Iroh still wanted to hear her say the very words thenselves. Then he would finally stop wondering. So he asked her plainly, "Ursa, did Ozai make you kill our father?"

A tear escaped her left eye and she quickly wiped it away. She looked at him steadily and her voice did not falter. "No," she said. "I did it of my own will. Your father ordered Ozai to kill Zuko as punishment for his arrogance. And Ozai would have done it. But I could not let anyone harm my son. So I killed the old man. And I would choose to do it all again if I have to."

Iroh stood up, his shadow falling over her. His hands were curled into tight fists and his body trembled with a deep rage. "I understand why you chose that particular path," he told her in a tone that was pure, cold steel. "I can even understand why you must have believed it was the only choice you had. I will not raise my hand against you nor will I seek the blood vengeance that is rightfully mine. But I want you to give me your word on one thing."

"What is it?" Even at the fearsome sight of his anger, Ursa remained unmoved.

"When he wakes up, you will tell Zuko the whole truth. You will tell him the reason why you left him in the hands of a father who tried to make him into a monster. Then you will let him choose for himself whether to forgive you or not." Iroh forcibly unclenched his hands. "You could have turned to me, Ursa. I would never have allowed harm to come to you or to Zuko."

Her gaze still did not waver from his. "I know you would have fought for us, Iroh," she said softly. "And I know Ozai would not have hesitated to kill you either."


	13. Chapter 13

Zuko was still feverish when they started their descent down the mountain in pursuit of Azula and the Dai Li. Both Ursa and Iroh had tried to convince him to stay in Lo-Man to give himself time to recover, but he would hear none of their arguments. Every second they delayed meant more distance grew between him and Toph. The fact that no one could tell him for certain whether she was still alive or not only further strengthened his determination to start the chase again. So, after they buried their dead, they set off once more.

He and his mother had talked about the secrets of the past as soon as he was well enough to sit up, and it had been an emotionally harrowing conversation. When she had finished saying her piece and asked him to forgive her, he had stayed silent. However, when she had asked him to let her help capture Azula and rescue Toph, if the Earthbender was still alive, he had nodded. So now she traveled with them, keeping mostly to herself. Yun Dao had been loath to see her go, but Ursa would not be swayed from her decision to be at her son's side during this particular time. She had left him still fuming at her in Lo-Man with only the promise that she would return. As they followed the trail left behind by the ones they were pursuing, she could often be heard muttering to herself in her strange language—a behavior that clearly unnerved the soldiers with them—and Zuko finally became curious enough to ask her about it.

"It is the tongue of the spirits of the underground," she said. "They tell me to return to the cave, that I am betraying my oath of service by being here with you. And I am telling them to stop bothering me because this is more important to me than any of their concerns right now."

"Your voice, back when I first saw you in Lo-Man, sounded very different," Zuko noted. "But now it's the same one that I remember."

"The spirits were speaking through me then," she told him. "They were arguing with Yun Dao's choice to sentence you and the Earthbender girl to hard labor. They kept insisting there was no dishonor and no impediment to the two of you being together. Of course, in hindsight, they must have already known the fate of the other bride, so they saw no reason for punishing you two. And then they showed me the bond between you and the Earthbender—fragile, almost severed by pain, but burning like a flame that refuses to die. I knew then what I had to do."

"So you married us to each other instead. Did you know who I was when you did that?" he wondered.

She looked at him a bit reproachfully. "Do you really think that I would not have recognized you? You are my son. My heart would know who you are no matter how much time has passed."

"Even with my scar?" His tone sounded bitter as he remembered that she had not been there for him after Ozai had burned him. He had needed her then, but he had only had his memories of her to comfort him during that time.

Her face clouded in sudden anger. "If I had had the foresight of the spirits then, I would have murdered Ozai, too," she said grimly. "I know these are not words you wish to hear from me, but I have learned the lesson of violence as well as you have. Men like your father—they're evil. They deserve nothing less than death. I only wish I had been the one to have killed him."

Zuko regarded her with a pained expression. "But you didn't kill him. I was the one who did. And did you know what I was thinking the whole time?"

Ursa's gaze was filled with heartbreak when she met his eyes. "Tell me." Share your pain with me, she wanted to say, but she knew she had forfeited that right when she had abandoned him and Azula. So she held her tongue.

"I was thinking of a day we spent at the beach on Ember Island." His eyes looked inward at a memory that had never ceased to torment him for the promise of happiness it had once held. "How he taught me to build a castle out of sand, then how we all laughed when the tide came in and washed it away. We were so happy then. I don't understand what changed us."

"Zuko, my son." She started to reach for him—she wanted so badly to embrace him, to comfort him as she should have done all those years ago—but he stiffened and moved away. Ursa's arms were left empty.

"I'm not ready, Mother," he told her, his tone gentle yet firm. "But please never doubt that I love you very much."

She nodded, and silently vowed she would do anything within her power to make sure her son would be happy again.

oOo

They were on their third day of travel when one of the soldiers glanced upwards and let out a startled cry. When he saw the familiar shaggy beast flying high above them, Zuko felt the first ray of hope lighten his heart. He ordered their party to halt and they waited as the Avatar's bison flew down to land right across their path. Avatar Aang jumped down off his mount, as bald and as slender as ever, but a clear aura of authority now clung to him and his usual smiling expression was absent. The Waterbender Katara, who was also the Avatar's wife, dismounted more slowly, and she was followed a few seconds later by her brother Sokka. All three of them looked grimly at Zuko.

"Fire Lord Zuko," Aang said formally, his staff held out in front of him like a weapon, "I wish to have words with you."


	14. Chapter 14

"What do you mean you and Toph are married?" Sokka shouted at Zuko. His shocked expression was mirrored in the faces of his companions. Katara looked like she had swallowed a monkey-eel while Aang gaped widely enough to have swallowed two monkey-eels and a hippo-rabbit. "Why would Toph ever marry you?" Sokka continued. "She hates your guts. I distinctly remember her saying those exact words. 'Zuko, I hate your guts.' Then she blew out the walls in the east wing of your palace. Remember that? So there is absolutely no way she would willingly tie herself to you unless you clobbered her over the head then hypnotized her." He suddenly gasped and pointed an accusing finger at the Fire Lord. "You did, didn't you? You clobbered her over the head and hypnotized her!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Zuko snapped, glaring at the Southern Water Tribe's new chief . "Haven't you been listening to my story?" He wanted to throw a fireball at the other man, but he somehow managed to restrain this impulse. It wouldn't do to start a fight with the Avatar's brother-in-law when he desperately needed Aang's help to rescue Toph. When the Avatar and his friends had first shown up and demanded to talk to him, Zuko had been a bit taken aback at their aloofness. Sure, they were not exactly bosom companions, but they had all worked together quite often over the years in most of the Fire Nation's rebuilding efforts in the different kingdoms. He liked to think that they had at least learned to trust him, even just a little. But to see them looking at him with suspicion again was a nasty little shock that reminded him of the past when he used to be their sworn enemy. So, deciding to emulate their manner and act as formally as the Avatar, Zuko had given each of them the proper greetings and addresses, then ordered his men to set up a shelter where they could talk. Aang had looked like he wanted to protest and tell him not to bother but Katara, who was obviously pregnant, had sighed in gratitude and said that she wanted the chance to sit down on something that wasn't flying at nausea-inducing speeds for a while. So, after a few minutes, a makeshift tent was ready, the Avatar's wife was comfortably seated, and Zuko began to recount what had happened to his party since they had left the Fire Nation.

"So let me see if I got this straight," Aang said then started to recite rapidly, "You were about to marry this Lady Ayumi, but Earthbenders kidnapped her and Toph turned out to have helped them without knowing their true intentions, so you hired Toph to help you find them, and, along the way, you somehow ended up marrying Toph because your mother turned out to be alive and communicates with spirits, and has the certifications to marry people too, then you finally found Lady Ayumi only to discover she's been killed and your crazy sister Azula has escaped from prison and she was the one behind the whole thing along with the Dai Li, now she has Toph, and you want our help to get her back." He took a deep breath, then fixed Zuko with a hard glare. "Isn't your story missing something important? Like the fact that you ordered your navy to blockade the Earth Kingdom's west coast and then attack the towns on the coastline?"

"What?" It was Zuko's turn to look shocked. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, that's why we tracked you down," Aang told him. "Two days ago, the Fire Nation navy began blockading the waters held by the Earth Kingdom on the western part of their continent. Then, yesterday, your ships started bombarding the settlements along the western coastline. We were able to stop them, and when we questioned the captains of the ships, they said that they had received orders to commit those crimes and acts of war, and that the orders had your royal seal."

"I gave no such orders." Zuko's blood chilled at the thought of the destruction that must have been caused by his navy. "This is—this all seems part of an elaborate plot to start the war all over again. You must believe I had nothing to do with those attacks!" His mind raced furiously as he tried to make sense out of everything that was happening.

"Well, when we first heard the news about the blockade, we started investigating," Katara said. "And we did get the idea that it may be some kind of plan for the Fire Nation to start taking over the world again. Then when the ships started their attack, we knew for sure. But we wanted to be certain that you had actually ordered these things to be done, so we looked for you. Forgive us for making the most obvious conclusion, but the actions of your navy clearly supported the possibility that you were embarking on another war of conquest."

"The Fire Nation is never going to war again," Zuko declared. "Not as long as I have breath in me. This must all be Azula's doing. When she escaped from the Boiling Rock, she must have gathered the Dai Li about her again so she could have Lady Ayumi kidnapped, which would then cause me to go off on a wild chase to rescue my betrothed. Then she made arrangements to turn the other nations against me by making it seem like I wish to start another war."

Iroh, who had been listening silently all this time, suddenly cleared his throat to get their attention. "If I may be allowed to speak, Fire Lord—?" he addressed his nephew, and Zuko immediately nodded.

"Please, Uncle, speak," he said. "Any wisdom you can share would be very welcome."

"I don't think this scheme can be wholly blamed on Azula. It makes more sense to think that she was helped by others who may believe that your reign of peace and prosperity isn't enough for them. Even though the Fire Nation is now more progressive and open in its dealings with other cultures, there are those among the nobles and the generals who still wish for a return to the old ways because of the power they wielded during Ozai's rule." Iroh sounded grim. "Such people would not hesitate to aid and support your sister in trying to claim the throne for herself."

"So they would help her in making me appear as a warmonger," Zuko spoke his thoughts out loud as he worked through the ideas Iroh's words had planted in his mind. "By doing so, they cut me off from asking the other nations for help when they openly try to take the throne. The Fire Nation could be torn apart by civil war if that comes to pass. And no matter which side ends up winning, innocent people will suffer."

"For now, we can only speculate on these possibilities because Azula and whoever is on her side are the only ones who know exactly what they hope to achieve with their schemes," said Iroh. "But we can be sure that whatever they are planning would not be good for the Fire Nation and the rest of the world. So they must be stopped before they can do more grievous harm."

"She has already done grievous harm!" Zuko exclaimed. "She hurt Toph and she killed Lady Ayumi." He remembered once more how the dead woman had looked after Azula must have had some fun torturing her. His heart burned painfully when he imagined the same horrors being done to Toph. When he looked at Aang again, the fear of losing his wife was clear on his face. "Please," he begged. "Toph is your friend. Help me get her back. I'll deal with Azula. I'll shut her up somewhere deep in the earth and I'll even join her if I have to, just to make sure she'll never threaten anyone again, but only if you help me rescue my wife."

Katara laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Of course we'll help you, Zuko. It's silly of you to even think you need to ask."

"Yeah," Sokka nodded. "Like you said, Toph's our friend and we'd go through hell to help her. I'll even help foil whatever your crazy sister is plotting so you can keep warming the Fire Nation throne. But after this, if Toph says she doesn't really want to be married to you and she walks away, you give me your word now that you'll let her go."

"Sokka!" Katara looked at her brother reproachfully. "There's no reason to say such things!"

"Yes," agreed Aang. "For now, something more important needs to be done. We have to come up with a plan that will take down Azula, or we could find ourselves fighting in another war soon."

They were all silenced by the reminder that the peace they had struggled to achieve years ago was now under threat once more. Zuko thought to himself that it wasn't fair he had to fight another member of his family. Though he and Azula had never been close even though they were siblings, somewhere inside him he had held the faint hope that she might change someday. He had also felt the same about his father, up until the moment he had had to make the choice that ended Ozai's life. Deep in his heart, he dreaded the time when he would come to the same decision about his sister. And he feared greatly for Toph.

"Please, Toph," he pleaded silently, praying that she could somehow sense him. "Stay alive until I find you."

Then the Fire Lord and the Avatar started making plans for war.


	15. Chapter 15

A splash of cold water roused Toph from a light doze. She snapped wide awake instantly and quickly remembered where she was, then resumed her struggle against her restraints. Only laughter greeted her desperate efforts.

"It's no use, little Earthbender." Azula's cool tones grated on Toph's ears. "Those blocks against your body are made of fire-hardened wood. It would take an incredibly strong man to budge them, and he would still need some help. So I highly doubt a slip of a thing like you can escape while you're locked up this way."

"When I get out of here," Toph said to the Fire Nation Princess in a voice that shook with rage, "I am going to take your fire-hardened wood and shove it up your—" A hard slap cut off her words.

"Silence!" Azula snapped. "Be thankful that I find you amusing, or I would have let you die days ago. But I will not tolerate any disrespect from you."

Even as the imprint of Azula's hand flushed bright red against her pale skin, Toph still managed to smirk. "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, I'm going to—"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Azula rained blows on all the parts of Toph's body that she could touch. Her careful composure had slipped and a mad light had begun to gleam in her eyes. "You don't talk that way to me. You don't talk back to me! I'll kill you for it! Do you hear me? I'll kill you!"

"Go ahead, you crazy cow," Toph spat out. She was in pain, but she wouldn't give her enemy the satisfaction of seeing that. "I heard you're very good at killing other women. Like those two friends of yours when they refused to follow your orders to burn down a building full of innocent civilians."

The wood near Toph's right ear suddenly cracked and smoked as lightning hit it. "Next time," Azula promised grimly, "that's going through your eye." She left her prisoner without another word and slammed the wooden door shut behind her.

When the Earthbender was sure that the other woman was gone, she dropped her facade of bravado and let out a moan of pain. Her entire body seemed to be stinging and burning, thanks to Azula's particular brand of care. She had woken up in this room two days ago, with hazy memories of the fight in the mountain village. She had been very weak, but alive. For several moments, she had felt panic as she realized that she must have been placed in a room made out of wood because she couldn't see anything. However, Azula had quickly given her other things to think about and made her regret that she was still breathing when the Fire Nation Princess started torturing her. Every moment she was awake then became filled with incredible pain, but Toph had stubbornly stayed quiet all throughout and held in her screams. However, her actions had only prompted her enemy to work harder at breaking her.

But Toph still wasn't so far gone that she wasn't able to notice a few things. With every second she resisted and every instance that Azula increased the pain she was inflicting, the Princess also seemed to be becoming more mentally unstable. At first, her torture consisted of carefully composed taunts that made Toph doubt Zuko was still alive while she slowly inserted hot needles into the Earthbender's feet. But, bit by bit, her methods became sloppier as she tried to get the reactions she wanted from Toph. Finally, she had taken to simply punching her prisoner in a fury, demanding that Toph apologize for disobeying her and screaming other insane-sounding rants. So the Earthbender thought that if she could play out the situation very carefully, then she just might have a chance to escape. She had to believe that there was a way for her to escape and get back to Zuko.

Biting her lips to keep from making a sound, Toph began to cry. If only she hadn't been too wrapped up in her own concerns, then maybe she might have noticed that she was escorting Dai Li members to the Fire Nation in the first place. Since the end of the war, she had enjoyed a special privilege that allowed her entry into any country she wanted to visit, and she had used this to her profit while she worked as a bodyguard and guide. The Dai Li had taken advantage of this so they could slip into Zuko's kingdom with ease—because the travelers under her care were usually never scrutinized carefully by border guards. After all, the people were traveling in her company, and everyone knew Toph Bei Fong the Earthbending Master was a trusted friend of the Avatar's, so she was always treated with a lot of courtesy and respect.

But, oh, if only she had had her wits about her! When the stranger with a great bag of gold had first approached her in a tavern, looking to hire her to escort his group to the Fire Nation in time to witness the festivals and spectacles that would be held to celebrate the Fire Lord's royal wedding, she had immediately opened her mouth to refuse. She was still smarting from the hurt that had been dealt to her over a year ago, and she certainly did not relish the thought of being anywhere near Zuko while he married another woman. But the man had insisted and, finally, her own stupid heart had gotten the better of her. She had agreed to take the job, not because of the gold, but because it gave her the convenient excuse to set foot in his country again. Maybe if she saw him get married, then she could finally banish him from her thoughts and get on with her life.

Then his bride had gotten kidnapped and she had met him again, and it had taken her only a short while to realize that she still cared for him very much. And, somehow, he also felt the same way about her, and that crazy incident had happened in Lo-Man where they had ended up getting married, and she had never been so happy and so scared at the same time because she finally got him, so she could possibly lose him too. And merely the thought of losing him was unbearable. Now, she wasn't even sure if he was still alive, and she cried harder at the idea that she might never see him again.

"Zuko," she whispered his name. "I'll find a way to return to you, I swear it."

The door suddenly burst open again, and someone stepped quickly into the room and stopped in front of her. A hard blow across her face caused her head to start spinning. For a moment, she thought the violent move had damaged her hearing because there seemed to be all sorts of bells and alarms sounding shrilly. Then she realized that these were actual bells and alarms. Wherever this place was, it seemed to be under attack.

"My brother has come for you, Earthbender," Azula hissed viciously. "And he's going to find you. I'll leave him a trail of your bits and pieces to follow."

oOo

They entered the Fire Nation as quietly as they could in the most secure location their ship could access. Aang had flown on ahead to check the spot and found a military detachment camped near the shoreline.

The soldiers that greeted them when they dropped anchor seemed incredibly surprised to see the Fire Lord get off the ship, and a few questions they asked of the officer in command revealed that an order had gone out that the army and the navy were to mobilize and attack the Earth Kingdom in three days. The story that had filtered down to the men was that the Earth Kingdom had sabotaged the Fire Lord's wedding as a prelude to their own attack. After hearing this, Zuko immediately dispatched new missives to all military and navy bases and outposts detailing the plot to destabilize his rule and possibly cause another great war. He gave instructions to find and detain all conspirators, no matter how highly ranked. He noted the looks of relief on the officers' faces when they learned that they were not going off to another war, and the sight gladdened him. It meant that Azula and her supporters had not been able to corrupt all his soldiers, so he would still have troops loyal to him in case the conspirators chose to escalate their plot and attack him in the open.

For the first time since Iroh had insisted they all travel to the country with their remaining soldiers on their own ship, instead of Zuko's desire to simply get onboard Appa with Aang, he was glad he had a group of men he could trust with him. He would need their help in what was yet to come. With his Uncle's advice, he and the Avatar made the necessary adjustments to their plans in order to ensure no troops or ships would be completely taken over by conspirators who could launch an attack on the Earth Kingdom before the three days were up. Afterwards, he assigned different men to their own tasks of flushing out the traitors in the Fire Nation. Iroh then volunteered himself to take on the charge of apprehending noble-blooded conspirators, and Zuko gave him the proper magisterial authority to effectively fulfill this role. Sokka opted to go with the old general and the Fire Lord was grateful to the other man for his help.

Katara, meanwhile, wouldn't hear of staying in the ship with a few guards. She wanted to be by Aang's side, and she loudly protested that even though she was pregnant, she wasn't too incapacitated that she couldn't protect Appa when the rest of them would eventually have to leave her behind and confront Azula. She also pointed out that she was a healer, and that they might have need of her skills once they got Toph back. The reminder that his wife would likely be seriously injured cut through Zuko like a knife, making him more determined than ever to complete their mission. Then he finally climbed onboard the Avatar's flying bison, along with Ursa, so they could do their own work of stopping Azula and rescuing Toph.

oOo

"My brother thinks he's so clever because he figured out my little plan!" Azula snarled as she raked her sharp nails across Toph's cheek. "Well, let's see how well he would still think of himself when he sees your broken little body!" She released the wooden locks that held Toph in place and the Earthbender collapsed to the ground. She then kicked the other woman in the head. "Stand up, damn you!" she shouted. "At least try to make this challenging and put up a fight!"

Grunting in pain, Toph began to crawl unseeingly on the floor, trying to get away from Azula.

The Firebender screamed in frustration. "Pathetic! You're as weak as everyone else!" She started to throw lightning around, barely missing Toph's questing hands as the blind Earthbender still crawled on the floor, making scared little sounds. Azula began to laugh. "That's it! Crawl away on your belly, you little worm. But there's no safety for you anywhere!" She paced around Toph, continuing to taunt the Earthbender and kicking her from time to time. Still, Toph dragged herself on the ground, trying to make her escape. A particularly hard kick on her side caused her to cry out loud and she stilled, panting. "Do you give up now?" Azula demanded. "Nice try, little worm. But you don't amuse me anymore, so it's time to squish you beneath my feet."

Still breathing hard, Toph raised her head to give Azula a defiant glare. " Next time, Princess," she said, "pay attention to where the little blind worm is going." And she threw a slab of rock at her tormentor just as the Firebender realized that Toph's hands were touching the earth outside her wooden prison.

Azula tried to move out of the way, but the rock still hit her left arm and she yelped in pain. Shouting incoherently, she blasted the wooden prison to splinters with an explosive ball of lightning. By this time, Toph was trying to stand on her injured feet, and the feel of the earth against her skin restored enough of her strength to let her create a shield that protected her from the Firebender's next attack. However, she was still extremely weak.

"I'm going to kill you, Earthbender!" Azula vowed, the mad light in her eyes glowing as hotly as the flames now wreathing her entire body. "Then I'm going to kill everyone else and burn the whole world!"

She flew towards Toph with all the murderous power she possessed.

oOo

By the time they finally found out that Azula was hiding in the country estate of one of Zuko's ministers, he felt an incredible sense of despair because of the things they had learned. The old noble had been viciously spiteful when they had uncovered his part in the conspiracy and questioned him, and he had spat at Zuko when the younger man had commanded him to reveal all that he knew about Azula's plot.

"Azula's plot!" he had said contemptuously. "Your sister is nothing more than a pawn to rid the Fire Nation of the bloodline of Sozin. You and your ancestors have betrayed our people too many times. First, you caused us to be defeated in war, then now you seek to corrupt our culture and our way of life by letting in foreign influences. We would all be better off without your kind!"

The man's words had deeply disturbed Zuko. It had pained him to realize that no matter how hard he tried, he still would never be able to give his people complete peace—not when men found it so easy to let hatred into their hearts. He would have continued to brood over these thoughts if Aang hadn't noticed his dark mood and correctly interpreted what was bothering him. "Put it out of your mind for now, Fire Lord," the Avatar had told him gently. "Our work isn't done yet."

They then proceeded to assault Azula's hiding place. She had powerful defenders, and it took them a long time to fight their way through so they could finally access her stronghold. Zuko had initially worried about his mother's safety but, when he saw her wielding white fire, he could not help but be impressed. "You look surprised," she commented with an amused tone when she saw the expression on his face. "I am a blood descendant of an Avatar. My family's wealth and influence weren't the only things I inherited."

After what seemed like an eternity of fighting, they found Azula and Toph. They saw as his sister shot bright lightning with blue flames spiraling around the bolt straight towards the Earthbender. His wife, who looked like she could barely stand on her bleeding feet, somehow managed to take the hit with a shield of earth and stone. Then Azula rushed at Toph with the intent to kill shining in her eyes—but she was slammed back by a white streak of lightning. She fell to the ground and didn't get up again. Ursa sobbed as she slowly lowered the hand that had struck out at her child.

Crying out Toph's name, Zuko ran to her and caught her in his arms just as she finally lost the strength to keep standing. "Zuko?" she said uncertainly, sounding dazed. He was horrified when he saw all the wounds and bruises that Azula had inflicted on her. "You're here. What are you doing here?"

"I came to rescue you," he told her, trying to smile through the sheen of tears that blurred his eyesight. "Looks like you couldn't wait till I got here."

"Well, you were late," she pretended to snap and tried to sit up. He helped to steady her. "I hurt all over, and I can't see anything," she complained.

He choked back a laugh. "You look pretty terrible, too."

She grimaced. "You're hopeless with women, you know that?" Then her face grew very somber. "What happened to Azula?"

He didn't know so he couldn't answer her question, then they both looked towards where his sister had fallen. Ursa had gone to her daughter's side, and Azula's head now rested on her mother's lap. The young Princess was still breathing, but every breath she took was labored and grew shallower by the moment. The wound on her chest was an ugly black thing that oozed away her life's blood.

"Mother?" She tried to lift a hand to touch the older woman's face, but she didn't have enough of the strength to move.

"I'm here, my darling." Ursa tenderly brushed back the hair that had fallen across Azula's eyes.

"Did you come back for me?" She sounded like a little girl again, wary yet hopeful.

"Yes. I'm sorry, love." Ursa tried to hold her closer. "I'm so sorry."

Sheltered in her mother's embrace, Azula closed her eyes for the last time.


	16. Chapter 16

Katara could not help a cry of dismay from escaping her lips when she saw Toph's condition. The Earthbender tried to put up a brave face about it and smirked at her. "Pfft! This is nothing! Except for the horrible pain everywhere, I feel fine." However, Katara just shushed her friend and quickly went about healing Toph's injuries. Zuko then received word that the different missions he had sent his soldiers on had been successful. The conspirators in the military had been identified and captured after a brief fight, and all the ships in the Fire Nation navy had been secured. Iroh also sent a report saying that the nobles who had plotted against Zuko were now all in prison where they would await their trials for treason.

It took a few more days before their group of companions could be reunited in the Palace. In the meantime, Zuko had the unpleasant task of releasing Lord Jiro from the dungeon where the conspirators had kept him after he was falsely accused of plotting against the Fire Nation. The old man had wept when he learned what had happened to his daughter, how she had been an innocent victim in the plots and intrigues of a few. He had not directly blamed Zuko for Lady Ayumi's death, but the look of hatred in his eyes when he finally sailed back home to the Earth Kingdom deeply unsettled the Fire Lord and only increased his guilt about the loss of her life.

Once everything had been put back into order as best as could be, and Toph was healed enough to stand again without aid, a feast was held along with a ceremony where Zuko honored those who had done their part to prevent another great war. It was also during this feast that he made the formal announcement of his marriage to Lady Toph Bei Fong of the Earth Kingdom, a piece of news that became quite a scandal across the land and even beyond the seas. However, one scandal that didn't break out was the fact that Princess Ursa had come back to the Fire Nation—because she had left again as soon as Azula was buried.

"But why?" Zuko had demanded to know when she had told him about her plans to return to Lo-Man. "Why can't you stay?"

"I have a duty there," she had said to him. "And this isn't really my home anymore. I still committed treason against the Fire Nation, and if you want me to stay, then you would also have to put me to trial."

"No." He shook his head. "If I can only make a single mistake as the Fire Lord, then let it be this one. I won't punish you for that crime, Mother, not when I understand why you did what you did."

"Then embrace me and say goodbye, my son." They bid each other farewell and made a promise that it would not be forever.

He had a lot of work to do now in order to repair the damage the conspirators had done. He often stayed up late into the night conferring and making plans with his ministers so they could gain the trust of the other nations again. At the end of a particularly long day when he had had to witness the sentencing of all the people who had participated in the plot against the throne, he went home to the Palace and immediately sought out his wife. He found her in the gardens having late afternoon tea with his Uncle and her friends.

He didn't say anything and he merely nodded to everyone as he sat down beside Toph. She quietly handed him a cup of tea and some dumplings while Aang, Katara, and Sokka watched the two of them closely. Iroh just smiled pleasantly at his nephew and niece-by-marriage, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

Presently, Sokka shook his head in wonder. "I see it, but I still don't believe it. You two really intend to stick to this whole marriage thing, don't you?"

"Up to and including crowning me as the Fire Lady next week, after a royal wedding ceremony to satisfy those grumpy Fire Sages," Toph said. "Then he'll be stuck with me for the rest of his life! Good luck to the Fire Nation!"

"Oh, I think the Fire Nation is lucky to have you as its Lady, Toph," Aang commented with a smile. "You'll certainly keep everyone here in line."

"Yeah, especially Zuko," Katara snickered.

"Hey." He frowned at the Waterbender, but Toph only laughed. He forgot all about Katara's teasing when his wife ruffled his hair with affection and said, smiling, "Oh, yeah. So who's the big bad Fire Lord, huh?"

"I am," he replied, then proceeded to kiss her laughter into silence.

"Ugh. Eewww." Sokka made gagging sounds and covered his eyes. "That's just wrong. Please stop. Not in front of food, by all that's holy. Aang, make them stop!" he pleaded. "I still hear slurping noises."

Iroh put down his cup of tea, chuckling. "Oh, that was just me." Aang and Katara both guffawed.

Sokka glared at everyone around the table. "What do the two of you even see in each other?" he wanted to know as he looked at Toph and Zuko again. "I just don't get the attraction. I can already see the future. You're going to have Firebender and Earthbender kids, and they're going to be insufferable. I'm letting you know right now that I'm not going to babysit."

"Like I'd ever trust any of my children with you!" Toph stopped kissing her husband long enough to get into an argument with Sokka about babies and how her future children would be able to beat his future kids. Of course, Aang and Katara had to jump in at that point and declare that their offspring would trounce all the competition in any bending battle they could name.

As he listened to them bicker and tease one another with the familiarity of old friends, Zuko smiled and sipped his tea. It had turned out to be a beautiful day, after all.

The End


End file.
